What can a design registration do that a patent can't? Protect how your product looks. A patent is a solid way to stop others copying your invention, but it says little about appearance. That's where a design registration comes in. This blog explains how design registration works and when to choose it over a patent.
The difference between a patent and a design registration
Start with a quick lesson in patent and design law. A patent is a legal text built around claims. Those claims describe the innovation, which has to be a technical solution to a technical problem.
A design registration is made up mostly of drawings and images rather than text, and those images define the scope of protection. They show what makes a chair or a coffee machine distinctive. A design registration stops a competitor copying that look, so it protects an actual product rather than an idea.
When should you choose a design registration?
A design registration suits you best when the design itself is what makes your product special. But there are three other good reasons to choose one.
1. You've already disclosed your invention
To patent an invention, it has to be novel. If you've already shown it at a trade fair or described it in a customer newsletter, it isn't novel any more and a patent is off the table. A design registration can still protect how your innovation looks.
2. Lower cost, longer protection
Patents take time and money. They bring plenty of benefits, but cost can push you towards a design registration instead. A design registration costs a fraction of a patent, and it protects you for up to 25 years rather than the 20 years a patent gives you. For relatively little, your design is protected across Europe for a long time.
3. Your invention isn't technical
A patent requires a technical solution, and many inventions simply don't have one. Think clothing, packaging, jewellery and home decor. Design registrations are also common in furniture, where pieces often take inspiration from well-known brands. A chair's function doesn't change, so there's little technical content to patent, but there may be new design choices worth protecting. A design registration covers exactly that.
Thinking carefully about the design
It sounds simple next to a document as complex as a patent. All you need is a few images. But those images need careful thought, and that's where we come in.
Say you develop a glass jar with a distinctive design. You don't want a competitor selling the same shape as a vase. The right approach to your images prevents that. The same goes if you might later produce the jar in coloured glass. Think it through now, and you stop someone else launching your design in every colour going.
You can also mark an element as optional, such as the lid. That way, the jar is still covered by your registration if it's sold with a different lid, or no lid at all.
In summary
A design registration is a low-cost way to protect your product against direct copying, and against close variations too. The scope covers variations, so a competitor can't escape it by tweaking a detail. An expert in design registrations will help you get the most out of that protection.
